HDH x Merit Goodness

Boutique Collaborations, Events

One of the greatest gifts one can give to another is to believe in them.

My name is David Merritt and I’m the founder of Merit Goodness. We design and sell high quality products that help kids get to college, with 20% of each purchase funding college scholarships for underserved youth.

Did you know that every 26 seconds, a kid in America drops out of high school? It’s true. I strongly believe that so many of our youth are dropping out because they have lost their aspirations. Or you can say, we haven’t helped them find their aspirations. And when someone doesn’t aspire to be, they lose their ability to believe within themselves. I argue that a person void of aspiration and belief, is a person that will not contribute to society.
At Merit, we’re building a movement to help young people aspire, believe, and contribute through high quality fashion and a program called FATE. FATE is a four-year, cohort-based program, that supports 23 Detroit high school students by preparing them to embrace education and become world-class citizens. In the past two years, participants in our FATE program have an average .46 point higher GPA than non-FATE students at their school. Our students also note (1) positive changes in how they work with others; (2) developing a sense of creativity and maturity; and (3) “coming out of their shells” regarding social skills and interacting with peers and adults, as a result of FATE.
We are so honored to be working with Hackwith Design House to bolster the momentum we are building to let any young person that “wants to” know that they “can.” And it is so very awesome, that with your purchase of this beautiful Arbor Top (see photo below), you can play a role in adding more time to that 26 second clock. Profits go directly toward our FATE program.
We greatly appreciate you and please be on the look out for more Merit X HDH madness in the coming months. You can also visit our website to grab Merit goods and learn more about our program and cause.

HDH x MN4MN Fashion Show

Events

We’re excited to share that Hackwith Design House, among other talented local designers, will be featured in this year’s MN4MN fashion show. On the weekend of September 19-21, there will be a total of 10 runway showcases, including 5 boutique showcases with additional entertainment. If you are interested, you can find tickets here (there are even some VIP tickets for sale that include fun goodies!). We’re so fortunate to be able to participate in such an event and celebrate the creations of other fellow Minnesota makers. Hope to see you there! 🙂

Above are some HDH looks that you may see at the show.

Events

Join me, Rita Mehta of The American Edit, and Kate Arends of Wit & Delight at Shinola Minneapolis on Wednesday, August 27 from 5:30-8:30 for cocktails and to see some of our favorite Shinola picks.  I’ve outlined some of mine above!  xxLisa

Top Photos:  Dustin and I picked these out together.  Perfect for taking our dog Samson on a hike, the Flip Backpack by Kletterwerks, a great Bandana, a Pocket Knife by Bear & Sons, a Hudson Dog Leash by Rugged Wrist.  Also don’t forget the incredible Runwell Watch.  And an HDH Basic for good measure.

Bottom Photos:  These are my picks for my every day wardrobe, which include my own Ryan Pant and upcoming Drew Sweater:  the Large Wallet, the Mini Backpack, and the Runwell Watch.

Events

We had such a blast at our Tasseltry Making event on Sunday—so many friendly faces and beautiful tasseltries! We loved seeing the different interpretations in each of the wonderful creations. We’re not going to lie…the gelato pops from Talenti were such a bonus and kept our creative juices flowing! (Thanks Talenti!)  Their Salted Caramel and Tahitian Vanilla Bean flavors are mouth-watering delicious. Thanks to all of the lovely ladies who joined us! 🙂 

Events

I’m hosting the ultimate giveaway on Instagram to start off the new year! One lucky winner will receive 5 pieces from my spring 2013 collection! Just like, comment and regram this photo to enter. Winner will be announced on Monday the 6th! Good luck!

Events, Limited Edition

Giveaway Dress! This beautiful fall dress was the first dress I made out of this fabric; basically the prototype. I decided to go with a different cut and style (the Autumn Plaid dress which is now up in the shop) but was left with dress so I decided to give it away! To enter to win, go to our Instagram page, like and comment on this dress and we’ll be randomly selecting a winner on Wednesday night! Good luck and happy Monday!

Events, Limited Edition, Miscellaneous

This past weekend Lisa and I traveled down to St Louis to visit and shoot with our dear friend Emily. We had the lowliest time relaxing on Sunday and checking out all the amazing things St Louis has to offer!

Emily and I both agreed that what we loved most about the Burnt Sienna and the Blue Dash tops are the easiness of them. Here we styled them simply with black pants and a few accessories. The simple touches were truly all these tops needed- they are staples in both of our autumn wardrobes.

Events, Miscellaneous

We recently met up with local blogger Emily from EMILY LANE STYLE to work on a collaboration for our autumn trunk show at Parc Boutique in Minneapolis (we will share more about that soon!). Emily was so kind as to style and model all of our pieces for the trunk show, and we got to spend time with her and be totally inspired by her eye for mixing amazing pieces to make one totally amazing outfit! Plus we got to talk about all things fashion, her love for coffee and what life would be like if we all drove a moped- as fashionably as her of course!

// we are both wearing HDH tops in the pictures//